Four-Legged Prayers

I caught up with a friend today during a short phone call. Although we live/work in opposite corners of the state and haven’t seen each other in a few months, we managed to cover quite a bit in 10 minutes. A lot has happened since we last chatted including (scary) health challenges for both of us and some major changes in the industry upon which we’ve both built our careers. I consider her to be among the most professional people I know and among the smartest. We met through an industry educational forum a few years ago and found we shared a passion for what we do (as well as a warped sense of humor). Her laugh makes me laugh, but it is her faith that I admire most of all.

Over the last six months, something unexpected happened. We discovered a new common thread among a small core group of industry friends: faith. Living in my own little world most of the time, I noticed it during a time when I was coming apart at the seams. There were summer weeks that went by in a blur, days when it took everything inside of me to just get through 8 hours with my “normal” mask on. What I do remember from those weeks are my friends looking me straight in my teary eyes and saying, “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to pray. We got this.” And I believed them.

On occasion, I would chat with or text this particular friend. She would ask about my health, wanting all the details. Then she told me that she and her dogs prayed for me every morning. And I believed her.

Today, we were chatting about another member of our fearless little faith club. “Have you talked to her? How is she?,” My friend asked. “I’m not sure. I haven’t actually talked to her, except for a few emails. I’m a little worried,” I answered. “Well, the girls and I will pray for her,” she said. (The ‘girls’ being her dogs.)

She tells me how they all snuggle on the bed in the morning. Then, the older dog often loses interest in the routine and leaves for the living room. But the little one really seems to like it. She cuddles against her owner, then stares out the window, contemplatively. My friend is laughing as she tells me. And so am I, but I’m also wiping away tears. Because I’m picturing this daily scene, because I love my friend even more for her fearless faith and because I, too, believe in a God that could never, ever resist four-legged prayers.